Hollywood Exclusive by Marilyn Beck & Stacy Jenel Smith

Keri Russell reveals that she and husband Shane Deary are thinking of expanding their family. Son River is a year and half old now, and, she notes, "One sure is a handful, but yeah, if everything were to line up and work out, we would like more kids.

"But it's also not lost on me that so many kids in the world need homes. So many aren't being taken care of, and we're trying to be responsible, too," Keri adds.

The 32-year-old actress has kids and babies on her mind these days, especially with Disney's "Bedtime Stories" on the way for Christmas Day release. Leading man Adam Sandler and his wife, Jackie, have 2-year-old Sadie and 1-month-old Sunny at home, and the movie had a kid-centric set.

Keri says — doing a funny imitation of Sandler — that her involvement in the feature began "when he called me up and said, 'I want to make a movie my kid can see, and I want you to be in it.' Six months later, the script came my way for this huge, fun fantasy Disney movie."

She plays a thorn in the side to Sandler's character. She's the responsible grownup — a teacher, in fact — skeptical of his ability to watch over his sister's kids in the tale in which bedtime stories begin to come true in the real world.

"Most of my stuff was reality, but I was not spared the blue screen," Keri says. "How it works is that the kids create these fantasy worlds, and everyone from Sandler's life gets inserted into them. I'm not nice fantasy characters, because he doesn't like me. I'm Tinkerbell hanging from wires, I'm a mermaid."

It's a busy month for her, with promotion for "Bedtime Stories." Keri's going to New York, London and elsewhere on behalf of the film that gets its Hollywood premiere Dec. 18. However, she notes, "It helps that Sandler just had a baby, so that will keep the traveling to a minimum."

POINT OF VIEW: If you think performers today are less restricted than in past decades, think again. At least, according to Tommy Smothers. "There's an illusion that there is more freedom because now you can use four-letter words and talk about body parts, but that's the only thing that has really changed. It's still critically repressive in this country," insists the Emmy winner, who was famously thrown off the air by CBS in 1969, when the network had had enough of his and brother Dick's political shenanigans.

"Look at what happened to The Dixie Chicks. One comment, and it ruined their careers. No one would play their records."

Tom has, however, noticed a shift. "Four years ago, doing our concerts in certain areas of the country, I would say something and get mixed applause and boos. Now, playing the same places four years later, we're getting totally different responses," he says. "The new administration is the first ray of hope in a long time. It won't be so repressive and secretive."

Yes, The Smothers Brothers are still at it. "Look at my brother and me — we're a couple of old guys now. We've been standing two feet apart for 50 years, seeing each other age. My brother is 70, and I'm 71," notes Tom, and they're the best they've ever been, he feels. They're doing about 80 shows around the country this year, and have their new "'The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour' Best of Season 3" DVD in release.

The brothers decided to put out the third season ahead of seasons one and two (those are coming next year, he says), because "it had more of the controversy in it, and some of the better pieces of material," explains Tom. With five hours of bonus material, it includes the Pat Paulsen for President spoof campaign, complete with spots narrated by Henry Fonda, and it has outtakes — including previously unreleased footage of the Smothers Bros. with presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy that did not make it to the air before his assassination.

EVER HANDY: Richard Karn, who many remember as Al Borland on "Home Improvement," may have entered into a new career as host of "Bingo America" on GSN, but he tells us he hasn't left his handyman persona behind. "I represent a bunch of companies like rechargeable battery recycling. I also started with a company called Mr. Handyman. It's something people should know about," says Karn. "You get caught with something broken that you can't fix, and these guys will go in there for a very little amount and fix it. I felt like that was a company that I could get behind."

PA-DUM-PUM: Winner of "Last Comic Standing 3," Alonzo Bodden, says his life has changed tremendously since winning the stand-up comedy competition, but there's been one change he never bargained for. "You can't buy porn," he deadpans. "Now when you walk in the store they immediately recognize you."

With reports by Emily Feimster.

To find out more about Marilyn Beck and Stacy Jenel Smith and read their past columns, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

COPYRIGHT 2008 MARILYN BECK AND STACY JENEL SMITH

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